His Majesty King Charles Visits Westminster Hall – marking a proud day for Stonewest
Stonewest News
Stonewest’s Toby Moore and Bill Compton had the great honour of meeting His Majesty King Charles III at Westminster Hall within the Palace of Westminster, where Queen Elizabeth II lay in state before her burial at Windsor on 14th September. As part of a collaborative, team effort, a bespoke bronze memorial plaque was produced with an inscription of Queen Elizabeth II with dates of when Her Majesty lay in state.
The new plaque has been installed by Stonewest to a large ledger stone which is situated adjacent to existing memorial plaques for Queen Elizabeth II’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Our sincere thanks to all involved, namely our client Saltash and the Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team, both partners that we have worked closely with on the estate for the past 20 years. Our collaborative efforts ensured this project was possible and completed to excellent standards.
Stonewest was appointed to design the new plaque and to repair and replace defective ledger stones. Historic England was keen to retain as much of the historic stonework as possible, whilst allowing the new plaque to be set into the 200-year-old hard York stone paving.
Previously, back in 2005, a petrographic analysis was undertaken to establish the origin of the large ledger stones prior to Stonewest removing and reinstalling the entire stone floor and steps to the Hall as part of a foundation upgrade project.
As part of our latest work, several new stones were supplied and installed by Stonewest and Johnsons Wellfield quarries was appointed to supply the 1.6 x 1.6m ledgers, each weighing approximately 470kg.
The Stonewest team were immensely proud to be involved in this historically significant project and to continue our involvement with the conservation of the historic fabric of the Palace of Westminster.
King Charles witnessed the unveiling of the plaque that will be in place for many years to come. This will serve as a visible and modest celebration of our late Queen, following her incredible and inspirational 70-year reign.
#stonewest #protectingourheritage #craftingourfuture #westminsterhall #saltash
Image: @theroyalfamily (Instagram)
